Report: Dozens of Production Problems Plagued Takata Airbag Inflators

Takata Corp. engineers struggled between 2001 and 2003 to cure at least 45 manufacturing problems linked to the company's flawed airbag inflators, according to internal company documents cited by Reuters.

Defects included poor welds, rusty components, the wrong grade of steel pipe, improper packing of explosives and chewing gum found inside an inflator, according to the report.

Misfiring Takata inflators have been implicated in four deaths and 160 injuries in the U.S. They also have prompted carmakers to recall more than 16 million 2002-2014 model vehicles worldwide in the past six years. A National Highway Traffic Safety Administration probe into the problem could expand the recalls.

Reuters says engineers continued to address production problems at the company's North American supply plant in Monclova, Mexico, into 2011 four years beyond the time period NHTSA is investigating.

One document cited by the news service says defect rates for inflators from the plant in 2002 were 60-80 units per million, which was six to eight times the company's quality control target. Another document lists at least three occasions between 2005 and 2006 when Takata engineers sought to eliminate leaks in the inflators that affected airbag performance.

Carmakers who have announced Takata inflator recalls to date include BMW, Chrysler, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Subaru and Toyota.